


A Useful Bribe Gift

by ilyena_sylph, Merfilly



Category: DCU - Comicverse
Genre: Alternate Universe, Clones, Gen, Magic, Possession
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-04-16
Updated: 2007-04-16
Packaged: 2017-11-14 07:57:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/513034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilyena_sylph/pseuds/ilyena_sylph, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To keep Deathstroke in check, his 'allies' created someone he'd want, but that one escaped them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Useful Bribe Gift

The young man was hardly prepared for the cacophony of sounds that erupted, but somehow it did not matter. Before his keepers could notice, he had stolen clothing, weaponry, and a wallet, escaping in the confusion surrounding the death of one Luthor and the reinstatement of the other.

CADMUS had created him, had let the warlock Faust perform some macabre ritual to give him hazy memories of another man's life, but that did not mean they, or this new Luthor, would benefit from it.

The instinct to go to ground was strong, and somehow he knew a bolthole not too far to do it in.

Maybe those memories would come in handy, he thought, making himself a blend of tea from the stockpiled supplies he had found. The fact the tea tasted just right to him was another small indicator that the memories were guiding him well; he just needed time to sort them out and decide just who this William chap had been.

`~`~`~`~`

One thing he realized quickly, was that William had become a man without a country at some point in his life. He knew he was British, as the accent and need for proper tea proved to him, but America felt comfortable. There was a damn strong pull on him to go to Africa, but that was impossible until he fabricated a new identity.

He was learning more and more just what type of bloke William Randolph had been, and worked to bring himself up on the new technology at his disposal to learn more. Long hours in the public library began to pay off, as the year wore on. He knew he was a soldier, knew without a doubt he had come to be involved in American affairs as a special attaché.

The more he dug, the more he had to work from for setting up his new identity, William Randolph Wintergreen the third. Thankfully, there had been one paternity court case; it was not completely unfeasible that the man had thrown a scion who now had a son. The clone worked carefully in building the new life, not wanting to trip up on any details.

He had a feeling, once he figured out who this Slade Wilson cropping up in his memories was, he would be glad for the subterfuge.

`~`~`~`~`

He looked up at the imposing Tower, and then down at the picture from the paper he was holding. He took a deep breath and headed to the wharf, touching the intercom there.

"Titans Tower," came a deep voice. William nearly called him by name, but caught the instinct in time.

"Chap, you don't know me, but I think I can help you with your mercenary troubles," he said carefully. "I'm the grandson of his old friend, and I have some information for you."

There was a very long pause. "Someone will be right there."

In minutes, the woman called Troia was landing and appraising him with a far too cynical look. He gave her the barest of nods.

"Miss…"

"Just call me Troia, and we'll decide just what you might be when we get across…" //Does look so much like him, so young…//

"As you'd have it."

`~`~`~`~`

William had expected to see most of the Titans there; he just had not expected them all, minus Logan, to come gawk at him. He settled and straightened his collar, nodding briefly to Cyborg, then Nightwing, acknowledging the roster's current and former leader.

"Good afternoon," he said crisply. "William Wintergreen, the third if I must be completely frank," he added.

"You couldn't be anyone else," Nightwing nodded once. "You said you think you can help us... how?"

Flash was still annoyed that Inertia had managed to escape with the man, and his expression showed it.

This was the part William felt the need to play most carefully, even as his eyes slid over Jericho and Ravager both, betraying nothing but polite interest, as if they were characters in a story he had read. "I came into possession of my grandfather's books."

Jericho did a double take, signing furiously. {"Those have everything! He had no secrets from Wintergreen!"}

{"I know,"} Nightwing flicked back at him as he nodded once, slowly. "Then... you really might be a help." He noticed the way Ravager was eyeing the newcomer and told himself to ask her later. "So let's put what you know with what we know and figure out where the hell he went to ground?"

"I can verify he is moving between old haunts," William added. "All of the ones I visited were freshly supplied," he explained.

"Taking a huge risk," Cyborg said with a frown.

"Like my grandfather, I do have…specialized training." The young Brit was grateful when Robin pointed the way to the conference table they had maps all over.

"Show us?" Wonder Girl invited, handing him red tacks. He quickly placed tacks all over the world, adding some black ones to certain locations.

"These…he might use them, now…they were abandoned by him, according to my grandfather for various reasons," he explained.

Nightwing laid his fingers over one in upstate New York, his expression going agonized for barely a moment. "Checked this one. It's been razed to the ground."

Troia noted it and nodded. "Flash?" she asked softly. "Can you do a long range recon of these, and not be spotted by Inertia?"

"No problem," he nodded once. "Black first, or red first?"

It was Raven that spoke, this time. "Black."

"Okay, Rae. I'm on it."

While he did that, and while William studied the map, Jericho studied the young man closely. They were of about the same age, which had the mute hero wondering just how Wintergreen had not known, or had hidden, the existence of a family line.

"Strategy for when we find him?" Robin asked quietly.

"Hit him until he doesn't get up," came from two female throats at once, and Troia and Wonder Girl glared at each other.

Nightwing shook his head. "Not a bad start, but how about putting a little more thought into it than that? We all know what he can do to a team that's not working at their best."

Flash shuddered, remembering the low conversation Wally and Jay had thought he had not heard, after Slade took down the League single-handedly. He waited for the others to notice him, and nodded once.

"Never left New York, looks like," he reported. "Not the one you said was razed, the one north, red."

//Why stay there?// Nightwing wondered for a moment, then his jaw set as he looked from Troia to Wonder Girl to Cyborg to Flash. "You guys can put the most hurt on him. Figure out who's hitting first, and how you're staying out of each other's way. Troia, Cyborg, you know how good he is at seeing patterns, be careful of that. Flash, anyone but Inertia there with him?"

"Yeah. Looks like that Sunfire girl caught up with him, but the other Titans must have gotten to the rest of them." After what had happened to Gar, a number of former Titans had gone hunting.

"I will keep Sunfire contained," Miss Martian promised. "I need to face her down, but…"

"I'll have your back," Ravager promised.

"All right. You two handle her. Everyone else, we're one perimeter. He doesn't get away this time. Which means taking Inertia down. Flash, you've got the most history with him. We do need you on Terminator, so who's best to take him out of the fight?"

Flash pointed to Raven. "Hate to ask you, and to play dirty…but if she's on Sunfire, has to be you. Only ones who can crack his skull and make him feel."

Raven nodded solemnly. "Batgirl can be my back up." The quiet Asian nodded in turn.

"I'm going; I have a duty in this," William said.

{"No."}

"Not you!"

The Wilson children had spoken at once, and looked fiercely his way. "We have a duty too, William," Ravager continued for her brother.

Nightwing looked at the young man standing with them, and shook his head. "If you think the resemblance will be enough to protect you, you need to see who's downstairs in critical. It won't."

"I don't need protection. I do need to be on that battlefield. With one piece of equipment." His face grew grim. "My … my grandfather swore to never let him become what he has. It falls to me to see that vow upheld."

Cyborg sighed softly. "I say we let him come, guys. You know he'll just follow anyway, if he's anything like the old man."

The older Titans all nodded once at that, having come face to face with Wintergreen's stubbornness at times. They fell back to discussing exact strategies after that, with William getting a promise to help him pick up that one item he needed from Troia.

`~`~`~`~`

The numbers and tactics were all on the Titans' side as they descended into the controlled chaos of a dance orchestrated by Slade's madness. The heavy hitters kept him tied down, as both of the other targets were handled by their assigned Titans. Nightwing, Jericho, Robin, and William were watching for when Slade tried to escape.

They never thought to see him run the blade through Flash in an impossible prediction of just where the speedster would be.

Or that in doing so, he would cause Ravager to turn from being sure Sunfire was down, allowing the girl to get off a distracting attack. One that hit Cyborg full force, interfering with his systems as her flames attacked weaker parts of biosynthetic body.

Slade bolted for the escape route made by two Titans falling prey to him and his lieutenants. The three waiting were in motion, and closing the gap even as both Wonders moved to stop him.

Nightwing could not be sure if it was sheer chance or blind instinct on Slade's part that took him to the weakest part of the encroaching mesh, straight toward the unknown fighter with them.

"Old friend, I made you a promise," William said in a steady voice, his rifle still pointed up in the air, as Slade was at twenty paces, at least. He knew he'd only get one shot, and he knew better than show his aiming.

For just a moment, the mercenary coming his way froze, the combination of the weapon and the voice and the resolute expression combining to stop him, and then the wind in his face slammed him with a scent he could not deny... At that, something buried deep within him lashed up violently even as his hand went for a blade, the arm hesitating, visibly in its path of renewed motion.

"NO!!!" Raven's scream rocked them all as she lunged from where she had been over Inertia, toward the outer perimeter. She clawed at her own throat as her senses screamed with agony, from being scraped raw at the anguished, angry attempts of an imprisoned soul.

{"Wintergreen?!"} Jericho's hands flashed, even as he readied two throwing blades in the other one.

"God save us both," William said firmly, throwing the rifle down and into place, a snap shot Adeline would have envied, as he finally did what she had tried many times to do, the round rifling through armor, muscle, and bone.

The mercenary dropped from the perfect heart-shot in that high a caliber, single eye blown wide as he stared, expression under the mask a mixture of shock and hate and hope... and it went clouded as his heart stopped and he fell completely. They all knew his healing was already trying to repair the body, but Nightwing had more than enough time to get to him and yank the gloves away, snapping a set of binders around his wrists that could hold Donna. "Raven?!" he barked as he moved, questioning her.

"Wonder Girl, secure Inertia!" Troia barked. She moved to do the same to Sunfire, knocking the girl out to spare herself the effort of a fight. "Miss Martian, help Flash and Cyborg!"

"He's trapped…I didn't see…" Raven went quickly to Nightwing, kneeling by Slade's side as his body tried to undo the killing shot.

"Just as it wasn't Joseph…" William muttered, gun pointed down as he took in the behavior he had pieced out of the news.

"Trapped? Raven, talk." Nightwing was busily stripping the rest of Slade's weapons away. He was stunned and confused by what their stranger had said, more than the action--the people around Slade seemed to tend towards guns--but given everyone running along side him at the moment, it wasn't that hard to believe that it truly was Wintergreen standing there.

William started assisting, finding some even Nightwing had no clue were there. "Bloody hell!" he cursed, as he felt over a hidden pocket and removed a dart and poison kit. "Old friend, you did fall in desperate measures…" he murmured.

Jericho paled even more than he already had, more than stunned enough to accept the silent support of both his sister and Batgirl as the realizations sank in for him.

"My…the spirits," Raven said. "They weren't just in Jericho."

Nightwing stared at what Wintergreen was holding, and shook his head hard. "He w--" then his head snapped around to stare at Raven. "The... oh, my God... Rae, can you fix it, or do you need backup?" For this? He'd call in anyone he needed to.

Cyborg was muttering in ones and zeroes that made Robin's face color as he listened, shaking his head hard. "We wouldn't all have missed it so long..."

Wonder Girl's head tipped, seeing the reaction to the words flying around pass over Troia's face and leave regret blazed across her. What was she missing?

"Kids…take the other two to the facility we discussed," Troia managed to say. "Slade's our problem."

`~`~`~`~`

It was a hard fight for the senior Titans…but none of them would give up. No one talked to William until they had Slade secured, could see the skin repairing itself, and were on their way in the second jet back to Tower West.

The Titans turned, looking at William carefully.

"Why the grandson act with us?" Nightwing asked.

"To protect Joseph and Rose," he said nodding his head to both, as Rose had refused to go with the other half of the team.

{"But you know it was…"} Joey's hands faltered.

"I knew when the blade lifted it was neither him nor you m'boy." Wintergreen pursed his lips tight. "Wipe that guilt out of your eyes, Joseph William Wilson…we'll be dealing more than enough with him doing that soon. Goes for you Raven…Grayson…all of you. He'll need support, and not guilty, hurting words." The young Brit looked back at where Slade's slowly healing body was.

His words penetrated deep into each Titan, hearing the voice of experience in handling their age-old enemy/ally.

"Can't make promises, but we'll try," Troia promised.


End file.
